An Apology Is Not Enough
By Keith Boykin, in spirituality
Thursday, May 18 2006, 10:46AM
Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams yesterday threatened to remove Bishop Alfred Owens from the mayor's interfaith council if the pastor does not issue a public apology for recent derogatory remarks he made about gay men. During a Palm Sunday sermon last month, Owens shocked the community when he told his congregation, "It takes a real man to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior...I'm not talking about no faggot or no sissy." Then he asked the "straight" men in the church to come forward and be recognized and implicitly told the gay men to sit down.
I'm sorry to disagree with the mayor, but those remarks were not a slip of the tongue. There's no accident or mistake for which Owens could apologize. Instead, Owens's remarks reflect his years of homophobia communicated from the pulpit of his church. That's why he should never have been appointed to the interfaith council in the first place. And that's why an apology is not enough. You can't apologize your way out of a statement you actually believe.
To his credit, Mayor Williams made it clear that he disagreed with Owens. "I really have to condemn remarks made like that whenever they're made against any group on the basis of sexual orientation, race, class, ethnicity or anything else." Although the incident took place more than a month ago, the remarks only became public recently when The Washington City Paper released a church recording of the controversial sermon. Then last week, Washington Post columnist Colbert King wrote a public letter to Mayor Williams advising him to address the issue when he returned from a trip overseas.
The Non-Apology Apology
If Owens takes the bait, he will likely follow the course of other prominent black ministers in the area who have issued pseudo apologies to appease their critics. Last year, Rev. Willie Wilson issued a pseudo apology for offensive remarks he made that "any time somebody got to slap some grease on your behind, and stick something in you, it's something wrong with that. Your butt ain't made for that." And ten years ago, I seem to recall Rev. George Stallings issuing a pseudo apology for remarks he made about not wanting a "milquetoast sissyfaggot" to lead us to the promised land.
The formula is simple. The pastor issues a long statement, "regrets" that his remarks may have been taken out of context, expresses his support for the dignity of all people, and then launches into an elaborate justification of his initial beliefs. In the case of Wilson, he made a big deal about the fact that his remarks were made in the sanctuary of his own church, as if he never expected anyone outside the church to get a copy of an audiotape that he hawks on his own web site.
This is not intended to be a criticism of the mayor. The mayor's intentions are good, and he is right to consider removing Owens from the interfaith council for failing to apologize. But that's not the beginning or the end of the problem. Owens, like too many other pastors, has a long and sordid history of spewing homophobia from his church. You can't wipe away that history with a press release.
Bigger Than One Pastor
Nor is this problem just about one minister. Instead, this is a problem about the larger culture of homophobia in the church. It's a problem about black leaders who are all too willing to cozy up to influential black pastors but often afraid to challenge those ministers on their beliefs. And it's a problem of black gays and lesbians finding the strength and the courage to stand up for themselves.
Earl Fowlkes, head of the International Federation of Black Prides, told the Post that "the mayor cannot allow someone who is on the council to be a bigot." He's exactly right. We need more black gays and lesbians like Fowlkes to stand up and hold our leaders accountable. And we need more straight black allies to stand up not only to express their support but to challenge the homophobes in our midst.
The biggest problem is that too many of us in the black community are pussyfooting our way around this issue instead of speaking up and fighting against the homophobia. There will always be people like Alfred Owens. They will never go away. But that doesn't mean we have to kowtow to them or elevate them to positions of authority. Once we start seeing the issue as a macro problem throughout the community instead of a micro problem of episodic incidents, then we will we be able to set a new standard in the black community that homophobia will not be tolerated.
Update: Bishop Owens Responds
The Washington Post today printed a letter to the editor in which Bishop Owens responds to his critics. The full letter is reprinted below:
During my Palm Sunday sermon, I used words that the D.C. Coalition of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Men and Women has denounced as offensive ["Gays, God and Bishop Owens," op-ed, May 13]. It was not my purpose to wound anyone or discriminate against any group, and I apologize for any offense.
Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church was in the forefront of delivering help through counseling, education and prevention to the gay community when HIV-AIDS hit hard in the 1980s. For that I was harshly criticized, and the church was stigmatized. Nevertheless, I increased our financial aid and instituted a support group for those who wanted help in pursuing a heterosexual orientation. I will continue the fight to alleviate the suffering of all people.
However, I will not submit my sermons through political filters for fear of recrimination by political or social groups.
On any given Sunday, I preach about love, faith and holiness, and, yes, about hell and sin. For that, I offer no apology.
BISHOP ALFRED A. OWENS JR.
Pastor
Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church
Washington
Comments conceal
ALLEGRO
May 18 2006, 12:00PM
Let's not forget to include Rev. Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, DC....and a PSEUDO APOLOGY he made to another DC congregation for a homophobic comment he used in his sermon. This was back in 2001, but still he needs to be included in the bunch.
PLEASE SEE
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2001/hickspost0424.shtml
saint james
May 18 2006, 12:36PM
Sometimes (as I am sure many of y'all know) when one is hiding their sexual orientation or "temptations" (to use a term church folk understand) will utter such hateful epithets to avoid detection from others. I grew up in the black church and I am well aware of this tactic. The black church is not the only church that struggles with hating people from the pulpits. It is very widespread across the church, period.
The only people who can effectively hold ministers accountable for the hate-filled rhetoric uttered from the pulpits of America are other minsters.
Rev. Owens needs to remember that the scripture says we are to "Walk humbly before God and do justice." The ministers of the gospel must turn from a cultural Christianity to the Christianity of the Book where noone is treated with hate in God's name.
Jamal
May 18 2006, 12:50PM
I used to be in the lifestyle and was not happy. My heart craved more than the superficial living of sex, parties and acquiring things. After earnest prayer, I turned from this path and now God is my lover, my best friend and has filled the hole within my heart from years of rejection, loneliness and emotional woundings.
Lord, I pray that you take these brothers from the bondage of satan. We give satan no place in our lives. God's word commands us to "bind on earth, and loose in Heaven," so in the Name of Jesus, the Name that is above all other names I bind the spirit of homosexuality, I come against every demonic force that encourages this lifestyle...I loose a sound mind, and a spirit of freedom from abnormal living...Father I praise you for this medium, where we can agree that your power far exceeds anything and everything that comes against your children...I thank You that even now you are dispatching Ministering Spirits to go forth and release the chains that has my brothers bound in Jesus Name.
I command the spirit of homosexuality to leave these young men now in mighty name of Jesus. I command the enemy to get his hands off them now in the mighty name Jesus and let these brothers walk in the newness of life. Let them see that this lifestyle is a dead-end and a death-style. It is said in your word that no liers, fornicators, thieves and those who lie with men as with women shall not see the kindgom of God. Lord I pray that you will turn these young men away from this lifestyle. Father may you transform their heart. I command the ministering angels to send christian laborers in their path to minister to them. Lord I thank you for these young men salvation and deliverance. Amen
Mel Smith
May 18 2006, 1:25PM
I express my beliefs about the situation. Bishop Owens attacked all us black gay men, from the past and present.
alicia
May 18 2006, 1:56PM
ditto
this is indeed beyond apology
as are all rabid gaybashing preachers in my book!
and
sincere apologies always accompany the cessation of further transgressions...
we know he is already penning his next gaybashing sermon
so
i vehemently refuse to accept his bogus apology in advance!
peace
ab
Andre
May 18 2006, 2:10PM
keith, I agree with you 100% on the black gay community needing straight black allies. While I do not think the apology was at all sincere or even neccessary at this point, I do applaud DC Mayor Anthony Williams for recognizing the need for this "evil spew" to stop. We have got to stop the black church from taking on causes that set up back as a race of people.
Nyah Molineaux
May 18 2006, 2:13PM
Dear keith:
I think you already know about this (being that you live in DC for 8 years), but Mt. Calvary Baptist church is the best gay pickup spot in the city. I know that there are a lot of gay people who attend that church; furthermore, there is an ex-gay ministry with an ex-gay pastor and some other bs. Furthermore, I attended school with his daughter for a couple of years.
You are right that it is bigger than Owens. But it is bigger than the black church as well. Homophobia is sadly a mainstay of the black community. It doesnt matter whether you are dealing with Americans, Africans, West Indians. Whether it is in the church; outside the church; or in the voting booth- we as a community are homophobic.
But as long as people like you are standing up to this madness we should be okay.
Troy
May 18 2006, 2:25PM
Jamal let's first pray for preachers and other so-called leaders who would bash men and women as he stands at pulpits above us and claims to be God's Right Hand Man.
Let us pray that these same preachers and other so-called leaders get a calling to see that they too are human like the rest of us and see their mistakes and be man or woman enough to apologize just as loudly as they put down their fellow man.
And finally Jamal, and everyone included let's pray for a day when judging one another is left to God and not someone with an attitude on a Sunday stands up and puts his foot in his mouth and expects your hard earned dollars as an offering for his version of the word.
Say a prayer or two that a congregation and a people and it's Mayor to know the difference between a truth and LIES at the very outset, the very first said words of any sermon from any day and any where.
THEN ON THAT DAY WILL WE ALL BE SAVED. Amen!
ryan
May 18 2006, 2:55PM
well Jamal I guess that did it...no more homosexuals here.now if you can just say a prayer for the people of darfur. those with cancer , aids, in bad relationships etc....then the world will be a perfect place
Dwayne
May 18 2006, 3:01PM
Father God I command that people stop calling homosexuality a lifestyle. Please remove this ignorance demon from their spirits. Transform their hearts so that they understand that same gender loving people are not just about the sex act but is about forming loving, caring, and nurturing relationships. I thank you in advance for such deliverance. In your name I pray, AMEN!
Keith Boykin
May 18 2006, 3:18PM
After this article was published, I learned that Bishop Owens released a response to his critics in today's Washington Post. His entire response has now been added to the bottom of the article.
Troy
May 18 2006, 3:33PM
His apology reads very blatantly as "Yeah I'll apologize, but I'm a still say and do what I want to say and do."
There is no genuineness or sincerity to it whatsoever. No one, no one with any heart would outline examples of what he or she has done as expected duties as head of a church. Church and charity go hand and hand. This apology is sad and yes it is not enough.
A rightful lawsuit should be put in place, then what short and sweet but pointed message will that bring?
People like Bayard Rustin, Dr. King and others would not let this go, oh if they were only here now.
Derrick from Philly
May 18 2006, 4:50PM
His apology reads like some racist white preacher saying," I apologize for callin' y'all "niggers", if I offended anyone, I'm sorry. But I still believe that y'all niggers are an inferior race, the Bible says you were meant to be slaves, and y'all oughtta' be glad we white men brought your asses over here from Africa. Where else would you get all the fried chicken you want? Amen"
I don't want any apology. I want black folks to realize that using terms like "faggot" and "bulldagger" can get you into trouble whether you're a preacher, polition, policeman, school teacher, pro athlete, co-worker of any gay person at any place of employment, or a stinkin' ass Rapper (I couldn't resist that. I just don't like Rap).
saint james
May 18 2006, 5:11PM
THAT is NOT an apology. He says those words are offensive
to the DC Coalition of Black GLBT. Those words are offensive to the heart of God. He says he preaches against sin and he admonishes people to live in holiness. What about the Apostle's words; "Let know corrupt communication come from your mouth...or Let your words be seasoned with grace so they may minister to those who listen." Bishop Ownes needs to be holy in his speech! Try being holy in your attitude. Hate words do not represent God or the gospel. "Faggot" is a word of hate and is rooted in the oppression of homosexuals in England. Where gays were burned at the stake on a pile of faggots (sticks to burn).
Noone is asking him to tailor his sermons. Those words were commentary during a call to the altar (of all places). I hope he doesn't prepare his written sermons with words, like faggot and sissies. Could he really be that callous? It was not his sermon that offended folk but his comments during the altar call. Wake up!
Is he blind?
Shabaka
May 18 2006, 5:40PM
There we go...Another half-assed apology!!
Someone please ask him how one can "lovingly" use derogatory words and how being gay is a form of suffering that one can be "alleviated" of!!
Ridiculous!!
Shabaka
May 18 2006, 5:54PM
Awwwwwwww...Jamal,that was the cutest prayer ever!!
As Ryan pointed out,let's make sure we cure AIDS,CANCER, and oh yes make sure Darfur gets a break...And THEN,we can take care of gay people. Okay,hon?
saint james
May 18 2006, 6:03PM
Jamal,
I appreciate your struggle and your testimony. May I ask you a question?
Please tell the truth. Your integrity as a Christian; a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ rests on your answer. Are you still tempted to return to homosexual activity?
I hope you don't lie like Donnie McClurkin did. He says on his video of his testimony that he is no longer tempted. I think he is a 'big ol' liar. I think it is not okay for him to say he still "struggles" with same-sex attraction because that would place him in a subset of Christians in the church. He couldn't be a pastor, his music ministry would suffer, he'd be whispered about, and his very close relationship with Noel Jones and the Winans brothers would come under close/unfair scrutiny. You know; as we say "It just be's like that sometime." Donnie McClurkin knows that. Can you be honest? Walking in any kind of celibacy whether gay or straight is a very difficult task. Can you have a real conversation or do you think your formulaic prayer to deliver people from the "spirit of homosexuality" will deal with the issue once and for all?
C'mon brother, talk to me, really.
Zeke
May 18 2006, 6:09PM
Well Keith, you couldn't have called it any better. Owen's "apology" was read, word for word, directly from the script that you predicted.
And for Jamal...yeah, yeah we've all heard that load of crap before. Next thing you know you'll be claiming that Jesus saved you from your troublesome blackness and washed you white as snow. You have about as good chance of accomplishing one as you do the other.
Here's a crazy thought. Instead of trying to change your immutable, natural, and innate sexual orientation and blaming it for all your problems, why don't you try fixing the character flaws you have that are resulting in your unhappiness? People need to stop blaming their sexual orientation for their inability to find and maintain a happy, loving relationship or for their drug abuse, or for their sexual addictions. Those are issues for which a person can reasonably seek help to change in order to improve the happiness with and quality of their lives. Sexual orientation is not. Blaming homo- bi or trans-sexuality for these problems is counterproductive to developing a productive, happy life. First it causes a person to see his/her natural, God given sexuality, an important and necessary human expression, as an evil, unnatural manifestation that must constantly be avoided, feared, repressed and dreaded. This results in the person unnecessarily wasting tons of time and energy trying to avoid or fix something that’s not broken or changeable. Secondly, it leaves the person unfulfilled, terribly frustrated, distracted and angry. And upon lapses, which are virtually inevitable, he may become depressed, guilt ridden and even suicidal.
So Jamal, you're not helping anyone when you come here pushing your snake oil. You know better than anyone that your orientation hasn't changed. You may have changed your behavior, but you didn't change your orientation. You can force a left-handed person to write with his right hand. Does that make him right-handed? No! It just makes him a frustrated, awkward left-handed person who writes, poorly, with his right hand. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
You would have been better served if you had learned to accept and become comfortable in your natural orientation while spending your energy changing the REAL things that were making you unhappy and unfulfilled.
Jamal, I'll be praying for you while you pray for us. I'll be praying that one day when your wailing to Jesus, in sack-cloth and ashes, maybe, just maybe, he'll actually speak back to you and show you that you are insulting Him and His creation by trying to change, and being ashamed of, how He made you.
theeunuch
May 18 2006, 6:16PM
I can't imagine that Jesus Christ would ever call any one a sissy or a faggot. However, he did condemn the church leaders for being hypocrites.
To Jamal, why don't you also pray for Bishop Alfred A. Owens Sr., that God would fill his hate filled heart with love for his fellow man.
Octavio
May 18 2006, 7:43PM
Ok...ummm...Jamal...do me a favor and use ur prayer quota for more useful applications. Honestly, fanatics like yourself scare me more than this preacher, because he wouldn't thrive if it weren't for the fanatics.
As for Pastor Bishop Deacon Saint Owens, I'm not gonna waste my time disecting the ignorance it will only ignite my anger. I will be glad when we fully enter the age of aquarius so this crusading mentality can subside (at least in the religious sector).
Erick
May 18 2006, 9:32PM
I'd first like to respond to Jamal's comments. His heart craved "...more than the superficial living of sex, parties and acquiring things." This is not limited to gays & lesbians. A good percentage of men & women in Los Angeles, REGARDLESS of sexual orientation feel the exact same way. BEING gay is not anonymous sex and drugs. ONE gay lifestyle can be these things.
I went to a gospel function with a friend last year and realized for the 1st time that because I did not grow up in the church, I missed out on an important spiritual, historical, vibrant, supportive component of the black community. I was saddened but reminded myself where I grew up was in the hands of those raising me so... My own self-awareness helped me to realize the difficulty that exists for most Black Americans, especially those who are gay, to stand up and denounce certain aspects the church and community at large which are hateful and hurtful. Regardless of what many religious people may believe, if one hurts, REGARDLESS of sexual orientatation, we all hurt.
I am grateful individuals like Keith Boykin and Jasmyne Cannick are stepping out front to challenge all of us to stand together against violence (spiritual/emotional/physical) from our families, our churches and our communities.
Texas76132
May 18 2006, 11:45PM
Blah, Blah, Blah.
I think the good reverend must be feeling threatened to notice all of those gays around him. His position is not surprising because it is financially prudent for him to blame the gays for the problems in the black community than it is for him to hold his own parishioners responsible for their sins and misdeeds. If he held them accountable, his flock would diminish and it would be allot harder for him to get that next Mercedes or Bentley. So much for truth, love, faith and holiness. The bigger story is Mayor Williams' stand against the so-called Bishop for that hideous tirade. It was the first time a black elected official of any kind took a black pastor to task for homophobic rantings. Hopefully it wont be the last.
Shabaka
May 19 2006, 3:14AM
I said it b4...I'll say it again...People need to distinguish between fact and fiction...This is May 2006!!
Come on people let's not get caught up in some superstitious,archaic,ridiculously narrated stories,and do what we do best...Make this World a better place!!!
saint james
May 19 2006, 1:16PM
To Those So Inclined:
It is not necessary to insult those who do believe the bible in order to take to task those who misrepresent Christianity. Those words are also hate speech. If we fight fire with fire we'll all burn and die. Think about it.
Peace
Stuffed Animal
May 19 2006, 5:17PM
Jamal,
If you have uttered your prayer in sincerity, I believe God will answer you, though not necessarily in the way you have asked Him to. I would direct you to consult those four books in the New Testament called The Gospels. Get a translation that's easy to understand, don't struggle with the King James Version. I would ask that you concentrate on studying the words of Jesus Christ as they are quoted there. I would ask that you study His life very carefully. I would hope that in doing so, you will be able to come to terms with the thing that you still fear and struggle against. Rest assured that if you do not desire to do so, God will not let you slide back into that "dead-end, deathstyle" existence He enabled you to leave behind. I pray that He reveals His will to you, protects you from the influence of false prophets, leads you to a peaceful place and revives your spirit as He revived mine.
saint james
May 23 2006, 1:55PM
Still Waiting Jamal............
Derek Stewart
May 23 2006, 3:37PM
I for one do not have a problem with Bishop Owen. He has a right to his thoughts and beliefs and if he chooses to ridicule and humilate members of his church whom sit there and cheer, tithe and the like, then so be it. I have nothing but contempt for anyone who allows another to treat them like shit. Especially when they have a choice in the matter. It is time out for us gay men to go to anyones table on bended knee. Man-up damn it! Demand respect! We do not have to sit at any table where we are not welcome. There are many affirming churches in the DC area that go begging for members (especially for black men) because you fools are so damn weak that you'd rather spend your time, talent and money in churches where you are not welcome. To get respect we have to be respectable. Nobody is going to respect someone that allows themselves to be debased and abused.
Jim Cash
May 30 2006, 4:16PM
Typical right wing garbage. Enough said
Albert
May 30 2006, 4:26PM
God Bless You, Keith, for your efforts to bring to light these hypocrite "Men of Christ" who spew forth not love, as Christ commanded, but hatred, evil, and ill-will against their brothers and sisters. I was raised in an Italian Catholic family and have recently found my spiritual home in Unity Church, where people of all faiths, colors, sexual orientations and physical capacities are welcomed, loved and honored as Children of a God, incapable of anything but pure, limitless love.
As Christians, we are followers of Christ, whose presence on earth was God's love for us perfected. Christ's message was LOVE, not punishement, hatred or bigotry. He called it the greatest of all commandments. Did he ever mention homosexuals, let alone condemn us?? To the best of my knowledge, the only group of people he ever got angry at were the money changers in the Temple.
Thank you, Keith, for your wisdom, vision and courage. I wish you continued blessings.
Ortez Taylor
May 30 2006, 5:02PM
As a person who spent most of my life in the church, I am sick and tired, of these pastors, preachers and people who feel they have the right to judge. Enough, read your bible, and I mean read them well, with understand, meaning and truth, if you rightly divide this word of truth, you govern your lives by, and the world would not be in this shape.
there is more lust, molestation, crime, prostitution and many other things you people call sin at the hands of the preachers, all in the name of God and the church, I am just SICK and tried of you people, I suggest you study the life of Jesus, and then get back to me.
Do not read about his ministry STUDY IT, he never once pass judgment on anyone, and never mention the bible with out meeting the Earthy needs of the people.
The man that was blind, the woman with the issue of blood, the wedding that ran out of wine, it was the fact the Jesus cared enough to fulfill their needs, and because of that, they believed, then he brought the spiritual element into the picture.
What has the church ever done for anyone, except ask for money? cause many families to be dysfunctional, and the community to be undeveloped. Most of my religious family members are with out growth and development, like you preachers, and do not have a clue how to have relations with anyone then their bible
I leave you PEACE, GRACE AND MERCY you will need it.
meme
September 2 2006, 2:19AM
We thank you for your apology Mr. Owens. What ever you feel or think is ok however when you make these statements about gays, many people are deeply offended. Thank you! Only God can judge you!
StopSaying
December 18 2006, 7:36PM
I agree with Dwayne. Calling homosexuality a "lifestyle" implies that being gay is a choice. It's just who you are...just like those that are heterosexual.
KROCK
February 21 2007, 8:04PM
QUESTION: HOW AND WHY DOES THE BLACK CHURCH GET SO "FIRE AND BRIMSTONE" WHEN IT COMES TO HOMOSEXUALS AND HOMOSEXUALITY? I'LL EVEN GO SO FAR AS TO ASK HOW AND WHY DO WE PEOPLE GET SO "DISTRACTED" OVER HOW SOMEONE ELSE CHOOSES TO LIVE? HOW DO THESE CHURCH LEADERS MAKE THESE COMMENTS AND NOT LOOK BEHIND THEM WHERE OFTEN TIMES, I KNOW YOU HEAR ME, THERES A SLEW OF GAY MEN SINGING THEIR HEARTS OUT TO THE LORD OR LOOK TO THE SIDES WHERE A LOT OF GAY MEN HAVE HIGH RANKINGS WITHIN THE CHURCH. EXAMPLE. I'M WATCHING NEWBIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH IN ATL WHERE I ATTEND AND I SEE 2 MEN THAT I'VE HAD SEX WITH. THESE MEN AREN'T GOING TO COME OUT AND SAY "HEY YOU TALKIN ABOUT ME" BECAUSE THAT WOULD PUT THEM ON FRONT STREET TO BE RIDICULED AND AGAIN FOR WHAT WHEN THE WAY THEY CHOOSE TO LIVE THEIR PRIVATE LIFE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH STRAIGHT CHURCH GOING FOLK. FOR SOME OF US GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WE HAVE LEFT THAT WON'T JUDGE/REJECT US. WHY DO WE MAKE DUMB EXCUSES TO EXPLAIN AWAY A MAN'S FEMININITY WHEN IT'S OBVIOUS?